GATEKEEPER To Release ‘Grey Maiden’ EP In February

Enrico


Looking to strike while the iron is hot, Canadian true metal up-and-comers GATEKEEPER will release the “Grey Maiden” EP on February 22 via Cruz Del Sur Music.

Featuring two brand-new compositions, a cover song and a track re-recorded from their first demo, “Grey Maiden” picks right up where the band’s acclaimed “East Of Sun” first full-length left off. The groundswell of support in North America and abroad — including the selling out of the vinyl and CD pressing of “East Of Sun” within six months — spurred GATEKEEPER to satiate their ever-growing fanbase with a new release.

“We’ve been working harder and faster than ever since all of this started happening,” says guitarist and founding member Geoff Blackwell. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from spending the past ten-plus years in bands, it’s that momentum is your greatest resource and you’ve gotta pour gasoline on the little fires that pop up in your career.”

According to Blackwell, GATEKEEPER (who are rounded out by vocalist Jean-Pierre, lead guitarist Kenny Kroecher, bassist David Messier and drummer Tommy Tro) has performed more shows in 2018 than all other years of the band combined, which has started to influence their songwriting. While “East Of Sun” is considered by many fans to get only better with each passing listen, the songs on “Grey Maiden” are some of the band’s most immediate compositions to date. However, there are some twists afoot.

“The title track might be our best song yet,” notes Blackwell. “It’s got a massive chorus, intricate vocal lines and catchy, pummelling riffs. We re-recorded the song ‘Tale Of Twins’, which is an old favorite that we’ve been playing lately. It’s finally gotten the recording and performance quality that the song deserves! JP did a great job with the singing on this one.

“‘Moss’ is a big departure from our other material,” he continues. “It’s a soft, finger-picked acoustic ballad featuring a lilting guitar pattern inspired by traditional folk music with fantasy-tinged lyrics. We also brought in a guest violinist to fill in the gaps. It’s much different than anything else we’ve done, but I think it makes perfect sense for GATEKEEPER. Lastly, we covered an obscure NWOBHM song by a band named TREDEGAR called ‘Richard III’. They’re a very cool, but forgotten band from Wales who had ex-members of BUDGIE in their ranks. They were a very early example of epic metal and we decided that it would be a good match for us. Kenny and I took some liberties with the guitar arrangement.”

GATEKEEPER’s future plans include a tour of Europe in support of “Grey Maiden”, including spots on key festivals such as Hell Of Hammaburg, Swordbrothers and Up The Hammers. In addition to more live dates in their home territory of Canada, GATEKEEPER will buckle down and get to work on their second LP, which, according to Blackwell, will feature material contributed by the entire band. But, before the calendar jumps over to 2019, some reflection of 2018 is warranted, a year that saw GATEKEEPER emerge as one of the best new traditional metal hopefuls in recent memory.

“Obviously we all hoped the album would do well and I figured that we’d make a few sales and play some fun shows here and there,” closes Blackwell. “But, I absolutely never expected us to sell out the first vinyl and CD pressing so quickly. That’s the kind of stuff that usually happens to other people. The outpouring of support from our new friends and fans on social media and streaming platforms like YouTube has been huge, too.”

“Grey Maiden” track listing:

  1. Grey Maiden
  2. Tale Of Twins
  3. Moss
  4. Richard III

SANHEDRIN To Issue Sophomore Album ‘The Poisoner” In February

Enrico


Brooklyn metallers SANHEDRIN will release their sophomore album, “The Poisoner”, on February 22 via Cruz Del Sur Music. Recorded in August and September of this year at Menegroth, The Thousand Caves with Colin Marston at the helm, “The Poisoner” features eight songs of timeless, classy heavy metal that picks up where the band’s acclaimed “A Funeral For The World” debut left off, with an array of big riffs, catchy vocals and explorations into darker territory than before.

“We had no idea how that record would be received when we released it,” begins guitarist Jeremy Sosville, also of BLACK ANVIL. “We knew we were proud of it, but the response from the greater public was quite surprising and humbling. Since then, we’ve been able to play some great shows and really learn what makes our band unique and build on that.”

SANHEDRIN, who also feature former AMBER ASYLUM and LOST GOAT vocalist/bassist Erica Stoltz and drummer Nathan Honor, used ideas that date back to the formation of the band for “The Poisoner” in addition to songs that were written around the time of “A Funeral For The World’s” release. The overriding goal, however, was to have an album ready in time for their European live debut next March alongside labelmates GATEKEEPER.

“I think all three of us progressed quite a bit as individual players as well as learning to maximize our roles as a collective,” says Sosville. “The approach is unique for every song, but it normally starts with me bringing in some riffs that work well together. Erica usually comes up with a vocal line and all three of us convene until we’re all happy with the final result. A very important aspect we pay attention to is how all the songs flow together. It’s a crucial element to any great record. We certainly did not want to write the same album a second time but we did not want to forsake what makes us SANHEDRIN either. Overall, I think this record is a little darker and a little meaner.

A distinctive element of SANHEDRIN is their thought-provoking lyrics, many of which that go deeper than metal’s often fantasy and allegory-based themes. On “The Poisoner”, SANHEDRIN addresses real-world themes that can be seen virtually every day in the news. “A lot of the album is about the destructive and chaotic side of human nature,” says Stoltz. “The thirst for power, living in a world slipping into a surreal soup of archaic ideas and advanced technology.”

After an active 2018 that saw SANHEDRIN share the stage with the likes of EYEHATEGOD, THE OBSESSED, CAULDRON, WITCH MOUNTAIN and SABBATH ASSEMBLY (among others), the band is preparing for an even bigger live assault in 2019 behind “The Poisoner”.

“I hope that the people who support us already are as proud of this record as we are and that we can gain some new supporters with this new material,” wraps Sosville. “We work really hard to make music we believe in, so it’s gratifying when you can reach more people with it and bring them along for the journey. We’re not the biggest band out there, but the people who do follow us have been extremely positive and supportive. We’re really grateful for that. I’m probably most excited at the prospect of bringing these songs to as many stages as we can in 2019.”

 

“The Poisoner” track listing:

Meditation (All My Gods Are Gone)
Wind On The Storm
Blood From A Stone
The Poisoner
The Getaway
For The Wicked
Saints And Sinners
In From The Outside

CRUZ DEL SUR MUSIC Invades DOOM OVER VIENNA Festival

Enrico

When it launched in 2006, Doom Over Vienna was a small festival that featured five bands in one evening — hardly the staggering multi-day adventures Europe typically offers metalheads. But, like any festival worth its salt, it continued to grow to the point where organizers had to tack on a second day in 2012, cementing it as the European autumn doom destination. For the 13th installment, set to take place November 9-10 at Viper Room Vienna, Doom Over Vienna will have a decidedly distinct flair when three of Cruz Del Sur Music’s best doom bands, APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE, HANDS OF ORLAC and KING HEAVY, partake in the festivities.

Festival organizer Jürgen Dickstein says the decision-making process for Doom Over Vienna is a difficult one since he’s often flooded with requests from bands to play the festival. “For our festival, I’m always in search for something special, something that has its unique sides and edges and something that touches me in one way or the other, whether it be from songwriting, sound or taking a special approach to music. Also, a rather important point is that I mainly choose bands that did not or very seldom play in Vienna or Austria, so we always had a lot of bands who played at our festival the first time outside their country, first time in Austria/Vienna or over here for the first time since quite a while. So, it’s always a longer process of finding a lineup completed by bands that I want to play, also considering the circumstances of a very low festival budget, which makes it hard to book all the bands you want to have here.”

Jürgen was familiar with all three Cruz Del Sur bands prior to booking them for Doom Over Vienna. APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE are already festival veterans, having played the 2016 installment. He caught HANDS OF ORLAC at Dublin Doom Days and Doom Over Scania and has seen KING HEAVY at Malta Doom and Escape Metalcorner, making it an easy choice to bring all three over for 2018. “I’ve known the label for a long time as Cruz Del Sur always has fantastic bands in its stable,” says Jürgen. “So, I have quite some records of this label at home! I’m very happy it’s three of them playing this year as well. Additionally, it’s an honor [Cruz Del Sur owner] Enrico will be at the festival this year — I’m looking forward to meeting him in Vienna.”

Doom Over Vienna 2016 marked APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE’s first-ever appearance on European soil. Since then, they’ve released their new LP, “From Gold To Ash”, which was hailed by Angry Metal Guy as “an album full of riffs, melancholy and a complete lack of pretension.” Drummer Corey Webb says festival-goers should expect a raw and unfiltered version of APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE, who, heading into 2019, will head back into the rehearsal room to work on new songs in addition to more festival dates.

“I think having a bit of familiarity with the club and the arrangements will be beneficial, actually,” he says. “There are so many other great bands that we are also looking forward to seeing and this year, we will have a bit more time to see the city, which will be great. The setlist is shaping up to include a good amount of material from the new album, but there are also a couple of surprises from the early days, including a song that we have only performed live a handful of times in this band’s existence. Anyone who has spent a bit of time with the new album knows that it is heavy in an emotional way as well as sonically, which translates very well in a live setting.  Expect to be doomed!”

HANDS OF ORLAC are still supporting their well-received 2017 split with THE WANDERING MIDGET and have since added a fifth member to their lineup. The band was originally asked to play Doom Over Vienna a few years ago, but were unable to do so due to their relocation to Sweden. However, bassist The Templar says the band are eagerly awaiting their appearance, after which, they’ll resume work on their third full-length album.

“We’ve waited impatiently until we got invited again,” he notes. “It’s going to be great to see so many good bands, old friends and be at one of the top doom metal festivals in the world. Since we’re now playing as a five-piece, we’ll play some new material. It’s a different sounding band compared to the recent and far past times. But according to our three leading rules, the show is going to be horror-filled, heavy and mind-affecting as it is supposed to be.”

 

With their new “Guardian Demons” album still fresh in the minds of the doom scene, KING HEAVY is looking to follow in the footsteps of fellow Chilean bands who have played Doom Over Vienna like POEMA ARCANUS. Bassist Daniel Pérez Saa says KING HEAVY has prepared a special set for the festival, with heavy emphasis on “Guardian Demons” as well as their previous studio offerings. Heading into 2019, Saa says KING HEAVY has already started thinking about a new album, but will continue to spread their word of doom across Europe.

“It’s an honor to be a part of the festival,” he says. “We’re eager to share the stage with bands close to us like IRON VOID, who we toured with in 2015. We’re also excited to play alongside APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE and MIRROR OF DECEPTION, among others. We are a band that is very concerned about our performance onstage. Our sound has grown to devastating levels of late, something we noticed during our recent dates in Chile. Without a doubt we are a band that excels in the live setting and I think that shows in our attitude and sound.”